Means for supporting bedsprings



NOV. 10, 1936. C K|RCHNER 2,060,675

MEANS FOR SUPPORTING BEDSPRINGS Filed April 16, 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

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Patented Nov. 10, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MEANS FOR SUPPORTINGBEDSPRINGS souri Application April 16, 1934, Serial No. 720,705

7 Claims.

My invention relates to an improvement in spring bed bottoms. It relatesparticularly to an improvement in means for supporting and positioningsprings, bottom wires and other parts attached thereto.

One object of my invention is to provide a strong novel bed springsupporting and positioning beam or bar not possessing the objectionablefeatures, such as notches, sharp edges, and increased thickness atcertain points, of some other beams commonly used for a like purpose.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a beam of the kinddescribed having novel means for engaging and positioning coil springsand their holding bottom wires which are supported by the beam.

Another object of my invention, is the provision of a beam of the kinddescribed having novel projections formed of extruded portions of thebeam, and adapted to engage and position parts engaged thereby andsupported by the beam, which projections do not weaken the beam, norincrease its thickness, but which do add to the width and edgewisestrength of the beam.

Still another object of my invention is the provision in a beam of thekind described of novel spring and bottom wire-positioning and holdingmeans which are easily formed on the beam, add but little to its costand are efiicient in operation.

The novel features are hereafter described and claimed.

Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of a portion of my novel beam 20 withsprings, bottom wires and bed bottom side angle bar attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan of a portion of what is shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of coil 23 Fig. 1,attached to a portion of beam 20, shown in section on line 4-4 Fig. 1,by means of a portion of bottom wire 24.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section, parts being omitted, of the mechanism forforming the beam taken on line 55 Fig. '7, and showing a cross sectionof beam 20 in position for forming.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the mechanism in closedposition and holding the formed beam.

Fig. '7 is a plan view of the lower tool holder of the mechanism forforming the beam. It is also a bottom view of the upper holder.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of part of a beam 21 commonly used in bedbottoms.

Fig. 9 is a section view of beam 21 Fig. 3 taken on line 9-9 Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a cross section of part of another beam 28 used in bedbottoms taken on line l0-l0 Fig. 11.

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the beam shown in the section view Fig.10.

Fig. 12 is a side elevation of part of my novel beam 20.

Fig. 13 is a. section of beam 20 Fig. 12 taken on line |3-|3.

Fig. 14 is a sectional elevation of a spring 23 attached to a portion ofbeam 28 Fig. 11, as shown in section view Fig. 10 taken on line l0lllFig. 11, by a portion of a bottom wire 29.

Fig. 15 shows a portion of a bed bottom with the lower portion ofseveral springs attached thereto.

In the following description similar numbers denote like parts in allviews.

Referring now to Fig. 15, it will be understood 20 that a bed bottom andsimilar structures are generally composed of a number of bars or beamsdisposed parallel with each other, as are the beams 20, 21 and 28. Theend portions of the 25 beams are usually firmly held in line with eachother and also in spaced relation to each other by rivets 25 passingthrough the end portions of the beams and bars 2! beneath the endportions of said beams. As shown, the end portions of the beams aredisposed flatwise horizontally and are twisted at right angles to theintermediate portions, which are disposed edge up.

In order that the beams may support as much weight as possible, they aremade with a cross section of great width as compared to their thicknessand it is desirable to connect them together at points intermediate ofthe side bars 2| to keep them properly spaced between said side bars.This is generally accomplished by a wire as 24 Figs. 1, 4, and 15; by awire 25 Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 15; and by a wire 29 Fig. 14. As shown in thedrawings, the wires are given a V or U shaped crimp at distances alongtheir length corresponding to the spacing of beams 20, 27, and. 28.Wires so crimped for this purpose are commonly known as bottom wires.The crimps in the bottom wires 24 and 25 are brought into contact withthe lower edges of the beams 20, 21, and 28 with the two side members ofthe crimps extending upward at each side respectively of the beams.

As shown in Figs. 1, 3, 14, and 15, the depth of the crimps is aboutequal to the depth of the beams, thus allowing the straight portions ofthe bottom wires to be in approximately the same 55 horizontal plane asthe upper edges of the beams 20, 21 and 28 Fig. 15. The bottom wireswhen so crimped serve to space the beams and also to hold the springsupon the beams.

The springs 22 and 23, Figs. 1 to 4, are screwed around the upwardextending portions and under the horizontally extending portions of thebottom wires and on top of the beams, thus being firmly held upon thebeams.

It is necessary to prevent the bottom wires and springs from slippingaway from their proper position at points spaced lengthwise on thebeams. This is commonly accomplished by cutting notches in one or bothedges of the beams as seats for the springs, or bottom wires or both asshown in Figs. 8 and 9. Since the bending strengths of beams of likethickness and material are proportional to the square of the beamdepths, it follows that a notched beam has considerably less strengththan it possessed before the notches were cut into it. Beams 2! sonotched were the subject of Locklin Patent No. 720,715 and are shown inFigs. 8, 9 and 15.

The provision of such notches is also accomplished by pressing the metalat points along the edges of the beams inward toward the neutral planeof the beams cross section, as described in Frank L. Kusterle Patent No.1,858,780. A beam I so notched is shown in elevation in Fig. 11, and

in Fig. 10, in section on line Ill-40 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 14 shows a sectional elevation of the lower portion of a spring 23attached by means of a bottom wire 29 to a beam 28 with pressed notches,said beam being shown in section taken on line Ill-l0 Fig. 11.

Beams with pressed notches are undoubtedly stronger than beams withportions of the edge metal removed to make the notches. However, thebeams are weakened considerably when the metal at the edges is pressedinward since such notches reduce the depth of the beams cross section.It is true that the thickness of such a beam is increased near thepressed notch. But since an increase of thickness, if taking placethroughout the entire depth of the beam, would increase the beamsstrength only in proportion to such increase of thickness, it will beunderstood that such proportional increase of strength due to addedthickness does not make up for the reduction of strength due to thenotch decreasing the beams depth as described in reference to LocklinPatent No. 720,715.

Another disadvantage of beams with the cut or pressed notches is thatthe beams thickness is increased by the pressed in metal or a frill leftby the cutting tool as shown respectively in the section views [0 and 9.This increased thickness makes it necessary to use bottom wires withwide crimps which do not prevent the beam failing under load by tippingover as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 14.

My novel beam is provided with projections 31 disposed in the plane ofits width at points along its opposite edges as clearly shown in Figs.1, 2, 12 and 13. No metal is removed from it. In forming the projections37, the metal at points near the beams edge is displaced outward in theplane of the beams width which adds to the strength of the beam. As whennotches are pressed into the beam, the cross sections through all pointsalong my beam remain practically constant in area.

However, it is to be understood that when metal is pressed inward fromthe edge of a beam, the beam is weakened as clearly shown by thedecreased value of the moment of inertia for a cross section of such abeam taken through the notch.

Since the extreme fibers of my novel beam are displaced outward andfarther from the beams neutral axis, its strength is increased. It willbe seen by referring to Fig. 13 that the thickness of my improved beamis not increased at any point and that firm support against tipping ofthe beam is secured by closely fitting U crimps in the bottom wires asshown in Fig. l. The springs 22 are each positioned by a shallow crimpin a bottom wire 25 disposed between two pairs of projections 3'! onopposite edges respectively of the beam as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

It will be seen from Fig. 13 that my beam has no sharp edges to injureworkmen, that the pro jections have practically the same contour of edgeas the rest of the beam, and that there is no point where a crack mightstart to cause failure of said beam.

Fig. 7 is a plan View of one of my novel and preferred mechanisms forforming the projections. Upright tools having rounded upper ends areheld in vertical holes in the holder 3| by springs 32. The holder Si isfastened to the platen 33 of a press. The springs normally hold thetools 30 against vertical walls of the holder 3|. An upper holder 34,similar to holder 3!, is bolted to the press ram 35 in a position wherethe tools 30 held in holder 3 are aligned with like tools in holder 3|.The lower ends of the tools 31) in the holder 34 are rounded.

The holes 36 in the holder 3! diverge upwardly and outwardly, and theholes 36 in the holder 34 diverge downwardly and outwardly, thuspermitting the tools, when indenting, to swing laterally outwardly, asshown in Fig. 6.

To form the projections 37 a beam 20 Fig. 5 is positioned between theends of tools 30. The press is operated to force ram 35 toward platen33. The tools 39 enter the beam from opposite sides near the edges ofsaid beam. As the tools begin to penetrate, the material between theends of the tools and the edge of the beam, being comparativelyunsupported, bulges outward. Since the yielding material does notsupport the sides of the tools as firmly as the material toward thecenter of the beam, the tools follow the yielding material and swingoutwardly at an angle to the line of motion of the press ram. As the ram35 advances farther, the tools are forced to rock farther outward andcarry before their adjacent ends a portion of the material as shown inFig. 6. The travel of the ram is regulated to draw the projections tosuitable height. When the ram 35 returns to start position the formedbeam may be removed or positioned for the forming of additionalprojections. As shown in Figs. 1 and 15, the projections 37 on the upperedge of the edge up portion of the beam 23 engage opposite sides of thebottom coil of each spring 23, thus holding the spring from shiftinglengthwise of the beam. The projections J! on the under edge of thisportion of the beam 23 engage opposite sides of the bottom wire 2 2,thus holding the bottom wire from lateral shifting.

The springs 22 on the flatwise end portions of the beam 26 are each heldfrom movement 1ongitudinally of the beam by the adjacent bottom wire 25,the crimped portion, as before described, having its opposite sidesengaged at opposite edges of the beam 28 by the projections 87, whichare provided in pairs, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the forming of the projections 31, each projection is formed byportions of the beam 20, at opposite sides thereof, being extruded bythe tools beyond the adjacent edge of the beam and outwardly between theplanes of the sides of the beam. Each projection 31 has a rim ofsubstantially the same thickness as that of the normal portion of thebeam, and has substantially the same cross section at the edge of therim as the normal edge of the beam. The cross sectional area of the beamthrough each of the projections 3'! is substantially the same as that ofthe other normal portions of the beam. Due to these features ofstructure, the beam 20 in the transverse planes of the projections 31has greater edgewise strength than has the normal portion of the beam.

Many modifications, within the scope of the appended claims, may be madewithout departing from the spirit of my invention, which I desire tohave construed as broadly as possible.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs and bottom wires forholding said springs, a relatively wide thin beam having a portiondisposed horizontally fiatwise for supporting thereon one of saidsprings, and having two pairs of projections extending respectively inopposite directions from opposite edges of said portion between theplanes of the sides of said portions for receiving and positioning thebottom wire which holds said spring on said portion.

2. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs and assembling wires,bottom bars supporting rows of said springs, each bar being in itsmedian portion arranged on edge and being thin, fiat and ofsubstantially uniform width and thickness throughout, the upper edge ofeach bar having a pair of semicircular, upwardly directed extensions ofthe same thickness as the bar, spaced so as to receive and confineclosely between them the lower coil of one of said springs, the loweredge of the bar having a pair of similar extensions projectingdownwardly and located centrally below the first mentioned pair andspaced so as to receive and confine closely between them an assemblingwire for the purpose of holding said lower coil in confined position anda circular concavity in each side of the bar for each extension andconcentric therewith, the concavities and the extensions being sorelated in magnitude that the cross-sectional area of the bar issubstantially the same when taken through the centers of the concavitiesas when taken through the unextended portions.

3. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs and assembling wires,bottom bars supporting rows of said springs, each bar being in itsmedian portion arranged on edge and being thin, flat and ofsubstantially uniform width and thickness throughout, the upper edge ofeach bar having a pair of upwardly directed extensions of the samethickness as the bar, spaced so as to receive and confine closelybetween them the lower coil of one of said springs, the lower edge ofthe bar having a pair of similar extensions projecting downwardly andlocated centrally below the first mentioned pair and spaced so as toreceive and confine closely between them an assembling wire for thepurpose of holding said lower coil in confined position.

4. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs and assembling wires,bottom bars supporting rows of said springs, each bar being in itsmedian portion arranged on edge and being thin,

flat and of substantially uniform width and thickness throughout, theupper edge of each bar having a pair of upwardly directed extensions ofthe same thickness as the bar, spaced so as to receive and confineclosely between them the lower coil of one of said springs, the loweredge of the bar having a pair of similar extensions projectingdownwardly and located centrally below the first mentioned pair andspaced so as to receive and. confine closely between them an assemblingwire for the purpose of holding said lower coil in confined position anda concavity in each side of the bar for each extension, the concavitiesand'the extensions being so related in magnitude that the crosssectional area of the bar is substantially the same when taken throughsaid concavities as when taken through the unextended portions.

5. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs, a bottom barsupporting on its upper edge said springs and being in its medianportion arranged on edge and being thin, flat and of substantiallyuniform width and thickness throughout, the upper edge of the bar havinga pair of upwardly directed extensions of the same thickness as the bar,and spaced so as to receive and confine closely between them the lowercoil of one of said springs, and a concavity in each side of the bar foreach extension, the concavities and the extensions being so related inmagnitude that the cross-sectional area of the bar is substantially thesame when taken through said concavities as when taken through theunextended portions, and means for holding said spring to said bar.

6. In a bed bottom including upright coil springs and assembling wires,a bottom bar supporting on its upper edge said springs and being in itsmedian portion arranged on edge and being thin, fiat and ofsubstantially uniform width and thickness throughout, the lower edge ofthe bar having a pair of downwardly directed extensions locatedcentrally below one of said springs and spaced so as to receive andconfine closely between them one of said assembling wires and whichengage and hold the lower coil of said spring in confined position, anda concavity in each side of the bar for each extension, the concavitiesand the extensions being so related in magnitude that the crosssectional area of the bar is substantially the same when taken throughsaid concavities as when taken through the unextended portions, said barhaving means confining said springs from movement lengthwise of saidbar.

'7. In a bed bottom, a bottom bar which is thin, flat and ofsubstantially uniform width and thickness throughout its median portionbeing arranged on edge, its upper edge having a pair of upwardlydirected extensions spaced so as to be adapted to receive'and confineclosely between them the lower coil of an upright coil spring, its loweredge having a pair of downwardly directed extensions located between thevertical planes of the first named pair and spaced so as to be adaptedto receive and confine closely between hold said lower coil to said bar,said bar having lateral concavities for said extensions respectively,said concavities and extensions being so related in location andmagnitude that the cross sectional area of the bar is substantially thesame when taken through said concavities as when taken through theunextended portions.

CARL O. KIRCHNER.

them an assembling wire adapted to engage and

